The Patron of Reading conference was held in Manchester on Saturday and it was all, and more than I expected it to be. I have returned with loads of books and brimming with ideas. I was astonished to find, on the day, that I was invited onto the panel of authors and others to answer questions on what we do. There were authors, Joffre White, John Dougherty, a headmaster, whose name I didn’t catch, and wee me. Quite nerve-wracking as I was asked some searching questions on what it is like to be a Patron of Reading/Storyteller in both Scotland and England and working on both sides of the Scottish/English Border.
What did I bring back with me? I was bowled over by the 2 Steves, Steve Barlow and Steve Skidmore who perform and write together. I bought Time Switch, a modern playlet with Shakespeare making an appearance at the Globe Theatre. They also acted a version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, called Pyramus and Thisbe, with “audience participation” and a cast of thousands. Excellent for primary schools! They also write books which you write yourselves as in you get to a point in the story when you have to make a choice about which way the next bit of the story goes. I bought Viking Blood but there is also Sands of Blood, Dragon Mountain, Demon Sea and City of the Dead. Don’t worry! The titles may be gory but they are happily aimed at 6/7/8/9 year olds.
I was also impressed by the Keeper of the Realms books by Marcus Alexander. I bought Crow’s Revenge and must read it soon. Marcus is great with kids, but I also like Joffre White’s Frog. He has ended up being Patron Of Reading in 11 schools which came as a shock to him as well but he is giving it his all. Karen Langtree was there too. I so admire people who begin to write when they are still trying to hold down a full-time job. Finally, I am waiting for a list of books from the Bookselling Lady who has a book shop in her garden. True! What a knowledge of children’s books she has!
Next time I will be blogging about the Empathy Lab. I had heard about it but had not got to grips with it. I mean to go over my notes this week and will pass all I know and understand on to you.
Happy Reading!!
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